Review: We Were Never Here by Sophia Hannan

We Were Never HereWe Were Never Here by Sophia Hannan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

We Were Never Here follows three estranged friends, Georgia, Circe and James, who reunite to finish a task they set out to do months ago. They need to steal a prized painting from a haunted mansion on their school campus.

What could go wrong, you’re probably asking, and the answer to that is a lot. Back in July, the three, along with their other friend, Jules, had tried to steal the painting while filming an episode of their YouTube Ghost Hunting show.

The result of that mission was Jules, dead, with a knife in her chest, and Georgia waking up in a pool of blood with zero recollection of what happened.

Oh, and they didn’t get the painting.

Now it’s October, and the buyer for the painting is back, and he wants it. No excuses. They agree to get back together and try one more time. They need to put this to rest.

Unfortunately, haunted houses never rest and the three are about to enter another nightmare. Will they all make it out alive this time? And what’s the deal with this painting?

Y’all, I’m not going to drag this out. In no way, shape or form, was this for me. I didn’t enjoy any of it, really; not the writing, the characters, the plot, or even the overall tone.

I do love the cover though. The art style and colors, it drew me to it immediately. I really wanted to love this and while it had a solid concept, the execution fell flat, IMO.

It felt like it was 700-pages long. It just dragged and dragged. It’s completely morose. There’s no nuance at all in the pacing, or energy; very one note.

It also somehow felt like it was trying to do too much, while simultaneously not doing much of anything at all. James was the one beacon of hope, but even he couldn’t save it for me.

I’m sure Readers for this exist. They’re out there and I’m hoping they find it and love it. Perhaps someone with a bit more patience than me, or with less of an urge to eye roll all the drama at the end. Sadly, that Reader isn’t me, and I’m ready to put this far behind me.

Thank you, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review. On to the next!

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Review: Better the Devil by Erik J. Brown

Better the DevilBetter the Devil by Erik J. Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Better the Devil is a YA Psychological Thriller that’s both dramatic and entertaining. It reads like one of the After School Special movies I used to love when I was younger.

I’m not throwing shade when I say that either. I’m serious. I loved those things, and a lot of popular celebrities starred in various episodes. I felt like this story captured a cinematic quality that could translate well to the screen.

In this story, we’re following a gay teen who is forced to run away from home after his extremely religious parents threaten to send him to a conversion camp. For him, it’s the logical next step, but unfortunately, extended life on the streets is very tough.

The teen is forced to do things that he never thought he would have to do, like stealing food to survive. When he gets caught shoplifting food from a store, he gets brought into a police station. While there, he notices a missing person poster with a boy on it, whose age progression happens to look shockingly like himself.

The missing boy’s name is Nate Beaumont. When the police ask him his name, he says Nate Beaumont. It’s the only thing he can think to do, but boy, oh boy, he could never have expected the insane can of worms that one choice would open.

The police are shocked. They know who Nate Beaumont is. He tells them he’s escaped from his captors, but he has no memory of anything prior to his escape. He’s taken to the hospital for assessment and the Beaumont family is notified.

The boy, now calling himself Nate, recognizes that things are quickly getting out of hand, but he assumes they’ll do some sort of tests, DNA tests or something, that will give him the time he needs to escape. But that doesn’t happen, and before he can make his escape, the Beaumont family is welcoming him home with open arms.

The next thing he knows, he’s at their house, at Nate’s house, swept up into their family. He has to play along, bide his time until he can figure out his next move.

The Beaumonts are such an enigma to him though. They’re nurturing and loving, so unlike his own family. He could get used to this, but then disturbing events start happening.

Someone is targeting Nate. Someone who probably knows the truth, that Nate isn’t who he says he is, but who? And more importantly, why?

Nate, along with his new friend, Miles, start digging for answers, but we all know, sometimes the past is best left buried. Will they be able to to figure out what happened to the real Nate, or will the baddie stop them before they get the chance?

This is a good novel. Many aspects of it were gripping. For me, the pace was off a bit, and I’m not sure I feel the author was really able to balance the serious aspects of this story with the more cinematic, entertaining aspects. A lot of it sort of gave me the ick, what Nate was doing.

I do understand his motivations, for sure. Brown did do a good job of building that up, and he still makes Nate a character you have great empathy for, but I don’t know, I still felt a little queasy at times, NGL.

I did end up loving many of the characters in here though. Not just Nate, but also his neighbor Miles, Miles’s dog, Chardonnay, and Nate’s Grandma Sharon, were all super fun and brought a lot of humor to the story.

I would recommend this to YA Thriller Readers, particularly for its actual target audience. I can definitely imagine teens really getting hooked into this one. I’ve never read any other work from Erik J. Brown, but I’m looking forward to doing so in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, HarperAudio Children’s, for providing me with a copy to read and review. The audiobook narration from Daniel Henning was excellent and definitely channeled the overall vibe of the story!

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Review: Beware the Abbott Boys by Chelsea Abbott

Beware the Abbott BoysBeware the Abbott Boys by Chelsea Ichaso
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A year ago, the small town of Silver Creek was shattered when popular high schooler, Mariana Flores, was killed in a car explosion. Even though the police ruled out foul play, the local rumor mill tells another story.

Ask anyone in town and they’ll tell you the Abbott boys had to have been involved. Granted, they do work as mechanics and had been working on Mariana’s car just prior to the incident, but still, there’s no evidence.

The Abbott boys, triplets, Henry, Bram and Adam, are used to the town chattering about them, but they were close to Mariana, so her death hit their household very hard, and the allegations didn’t help matters.

Hayden, the girl next door to the Abbotts, knows they’re innocent. She’s Henry’s best friend, but she feels a special connection to each of the brothers and she knows they wouldn’t have done anything to harm Mariana.

When the new school year starts, another popular high school girl is found dead in the woods abutting the school.

When security camera footage reveals a figure seen entering the woods with the victim, it’s clear they’re wearing a special hoodie. One with a giant A on the back. A hoodie all three of the Abbott brothers own, but which one was it?

To clear their names, Hayden begins an investigation of her own, but the deeper she digs the more she starts to question, how well does she really know the Abbott boys?

I had a lot of fun with Beware the Abbott Boys. It’s a great YA Mystery-Thriller, full of drama and all the things that go along with that. The characters were well-imagined and I feel like Ichaso did a great job building up the intensity.

The mystery of it was fairly simplistic, NGL, but that didn’t retract from the enjoyment I had going along for the ride. Clearly, I’m not the target audience for this, but in spite of that, I still really enjoyed my time with it and can appreciate how much a Teen audience would love this.

Honestly though, with this being said, I love YA Mystery-Thrillers and Horror. I don’t think I’ll ever stop reading them. I’ll never age out of the category.

I like all the drama, and how deeply the characters feel their emotions. It reminds me of a simpler time in my own life, and each story feels nostalgic almost in their own way. Also, the stakes don’t tend to get as serious, and frankly depressing, as Adult dramas.

But that’s just me…

I would highly recommend this one to YA Mystery-Thriller Readers. For me, Ichaso’s books are getting stronger and stronger as she goes and I’m looking forward to whatever she writes next.

Thank you to the publisher, SOURCEBOOKS Fire and Tantor Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This is one of the most engaging YA Thrillers I’ve read this year, and I’m very happy I made time for it!

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Review: Be Right Back (Let’s Split Up #2) by Bill Wood

Be Right Back (Let's Split Up, #2)Be Right Back by Bill Wood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Be Right Back is the sequel to Bill Wood’s 2025-release, Let’s Split Up. These are YA Horror books that follow a group of friends in the small town of Sanera, California.

These novels are multi-perspective and channel all the fun spooky vibes of 80s and 90s Horror Fiction. There’s something about these books that feels nostalgic to me. I think it’s Bill Wood’s set-up and delivery. They’re very fun.

This sequel is set a year after the events of Let’s Split Up. Our friends, Amber, Buffy, Jonesy and Cam, have all now graduated high school, and moved on to their next steps as young adults. They’ve all left town, attending different colleges, except for Cam, who has stuck around and is currently an assistant coach at their old high school.

The start of this novel finds Amber, Buffy and Jonesy all returning home to attend the Sanera Halloween Festival. It’s the first time they’ve reunited, and it feels so good.

That is until the murders start. The gang, now known as the Sanera Four, is thrust into a grisly mystery as the Halloween Festival descends into chaos. It seems someone is using local legends as inspirations to commit their heinous crimes.

It’s clear the killer wants to get the attention of the Sanera Four, as the legends they’re choosing seem to specifically target the myths they once debunked. With the gang drawing unwanted attention, they must solve the mystery and catch the killer before they have a chance to strike again.

It didn’t take me long to remember why I liked Let’s Split Up so much. I was so happy and excited to be back with this great cast of characters that Wood has created. The Sanera Four are all well-developed, and I love getting each of their perspectives over the course of the book.

Another aspect I adore is the heavy Scooby-Doo vibes, which if you’ve read the Author’s Note of the 1st-book, you realize is intentional. But it’s not just Scooby-Doo. They’re pretty trope heavy, so feel nostaglic in that way, which I enjoy.

For example, this one was giving me sort of combined I Still Know What You Did Last Summer with Urban Legends; both popular Teen Screams of 1998. When I’m reminded of Horror media of the past that I’ve loved through a story, without it feeling copy-catty, I’m happy.

Bill Wood makes me happy.

I also respect how these books don’t take themselves too seriously. They’re pure entertainment, so if you’re looking for an entertaining and nostalgic feeling YA Horror series, I would absolutely recommend these books.

There’s already been a 3rd-book announced, One Last Scare, which is slated to release in October of 2026. I’m planning to be first in line for that. I cannot wait.

Thank you to the publisher, Scholastic, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m not sure how many books are going to end up being in this series, but either way, I have a feeling Bill Wood and I are going to have a long and beautiful friendship!

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Review: The Cove by Claire Rose

The CoveThe Cove by Claire Rose
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**2.5-stars rounded up**

The Cove is a YA Horror-Thriller that follows 17-year old, Lindsay Weinburg. Lindsay’s parents, though able to provide for her everything she needs, are pretty absent from her life. Because of that, Lindsay acts out quite a bit.

After she gets kicked out from yet another expensive prep school, her parents are fed up. Without consulting Lindsay at all, they ship her off to remote Marbury, Maine, to stay with her estranged Uncle Levi.

When she arrives at her Uncle’s farmhouse though, he’s gone, leaving the farm in the control of his evangelical wife, Irene, who Lindsay has never met.

Another fun fact Lindsay learns upon arrival is that Irene runs a reform camp for troubled teens at the farm, and there’s four other teens currently in residence. They must follow very strict rules, and perform laborious tasks during the day. It’s exhausting, isolating, and definitely not the lifestyle Lindsay is used to.

When Lindsay meets Phin and Cass, twins who live on a nearby island, she’s intrigued by them right away. After she convinces the other teens at the farm to sneak out for a party, everything changes. They wake in their beds the next day, clutching sea shells and with zero recollection of how they got back home.

One of the camp members is missing and Lindsay and the other teens realize something is very wrong. They need to figure out what happened at The Cove, before anyone else falls victim to its mysterious pull.

This was fine for me. I wasn’t really that intrigued by what was happening, unfortunately, so my attention waxed and waned. I found Lindsay’s perspective super grating, so we got off on a wrong foot almost immediately.

The way her narrative voice was written just didn’t work for me that well. Instead of feeling like I was with her as she was relaying the events of everything happening to her, I felt more like I was just getting a laundry list of her judgements of everywhere and everyone around her.

I feel like the author did succeed in setting up a mysterious culty-vibe with the setting. It felt a little disjointed though, in the later half, as everything was coming to a head.

The writing style and pace weren’t as fluid as I tend to enjoy, and some of the more supernatural elements felt under-baked, IMO. I do think for Younger Readers looking to be exposed more to Horror Thrillers, this could work very well. More experienced Readers of the genre, whether YA or not, may feel like they’ve seen this done better elsewhere.

I will say that I did enjoy the audiobook narration by Jesse Vilinsky. Vilinsky’s delivery was believable as Lindsay and it did keep me relatively dialed in. I would recommend that format if you’re going to pick this one up.

At the end of the day, my thoughts on this one just boil down to personal taste. I know there’s a good story in here, the execution just didn’t work for me personally.

Like I always say, however, just because this didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. If the content sounds interesting to you, give it a go. You could end up finding a new favorite.

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. Though this one didn’t quite knock my socks off, I wouldn’t be opposed to picking up more from this author.

She’s definitely someone I will keep my eye on in the future!

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Review: Very Dangerous Things by Lauren Muñoz

Very Dangerous ThingsVery Dangerous Things by Lauren Muñoz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very Dangerous Things is set at J. Everett High, a private school that annually stages a murder mystery game for their Criminology students.

Basically, a fake murder occurs, the students form teams, and follow clues to try to solve the murder. When Xavier Torres is found dead in the greenhouse, the students initially believe that the game has begun. Sadly though, Xavier’s death has not been staged.

He’s actually been murdered.

We follow Dulcie Castillo, a crime junkie and Criminology student, who was determined to win this year’s game. Xavier’s sudden death has certainly shocked the student body, but Dulcie remains determined to solve the crime.

Xavier’s ex-girlfriend, and Dulcie’s ex-best friend, Sierra Fox, seems to be everyone’s main suspect, including the police, but Sierra swears she is innocent.

Sierra reaches out to Dulcie for help. She figures if anyone can prove her innocence it would be Dulcie, and though Dulcie has some hurt feelings regarding their relationship, she doesn’t really believe Sierra is capable of murder.

The thing is, the school is an isolated place. No one else has been arrested, or even suspected. If Sierra didn’t do it, that leaves a killer among them. Can Dulcie get to the bottom of it, before anyone else loses their lives?

Very Dangerous Things is a super delightful YA Mystery. I loved the private school setting, and the cast of characters, in addition to the mystery elements, were super-compelling. Lauren Muñoz is underrated, IMO.

This kicks off so quickly. We get to the heart of what we’re going to be investigating within the first 10% of the book, and I really appreciate that. Muñoz didn’t waste time introducing every person and having a big run-up to the murder. It’s just like, here we are, let’s get cracking.

I also loved how in the dark I was for the longest time. I had zero suspects in mind. We were getting so much information on various characters, but they all seemed so believable and earnest. I couldn’t imagine who out of this cast could have possibly wanted to kill poor Xavier.

It was fun the way Muñoz set-up the way Dulcie went about solving the crime as well. The various techniques and her thought process as she was assessing various clues. I felt that aspect was so well done, and in a way sort of paid homage to some of the great classic fictional detectives.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good YA Mystery, particularly if you enjoy a private school setting.

Thank you to the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait for whatever Muñoz writes next!

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Review: Rolls and Rivalry (Gaming and Romance #3) by Kristy Boyce

Rolls and RivalryRolls and Rivalry by Kristy Boyce
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rolls and Rivalry is the 3rd-book in Kristy Boyce’s YA-Romance series now called Gaming and Romance. I could be mistaken, but I believe this series used to be known as the Dungeons and Drama series.

Regardless of the series title, these are a set of companion novels that all involve RPG-Gaming, in particular, as you might have assumed, Dungeons & Dragons.

These novels are companions really in theme-only, meaning there’s not a lot of character crossover. Therefore, you are free to read them in any order.

There are very small cameos of past characters, but I don’t feel like if you miss the reference it will cause you to enjoy the book any less. The cameos are more like Easter Egg bonuses for loyal Readers.

In this installment, we follow Hazel, who is getting ready to enter her Senior year in high school. Hazel has been an active participant in her high school Color Guard since she was a Freshman, and we start the novel with Band Camp.

Hazel is now Color Guard Captain and feels a lot of pressure in that role. She’s striving to gain respect for herself and her fellow Guard members with the rest of the marching band, who seem to look down on them.

In the midst of all of this pressure, Hazel’s best friend from childhood, Max, returns to their school after having moved away following his parent’s divorce.

Hazel is initially excited to have him back, to have a chance to rekindle their friendship. Admittedly, Hazel had a bit of a crush on him when they were younger, and upon seeing him again, she can tell that hasn’t changed.

But Max is a member of percussion, and those two groups, percussion and the Guard, do not get along. In fact, Max seems to be falling into the jerk percussion role well. He gives her the cold shoulder in front of everyone.

Unfortunately, Max is showing up at her house every Sunday, just like the old days, because his Mom has rejoined Hazel’s parent’s D&D group.

Hazel is finally at a point where she is ready to run her own D&D group, and since people aren’t exactly lining up at her door to join, she offers to have Max join. He’s super into D&D, and he’s at her house on the weekends anyway. He’s also easy on the eyes; it just makes sense.

Also joining them are Hazel’s best friend, and two younger members of the band, one Guard member, and one percussion member. Look at Hazel, building bridges.

D&D is a fairly intimate game. You really come to mesh with the people you’re playing with. You bond over the campaign as you batter around ideas and create whole new worlds with your joint creativity and imagination.

As you can imagine, with their preexisting relationship, Hazel and Max start to see each other again with fresh eyes. Maybe their constant bickering is masking other feelings they’re too afraid to express…

This was so, so good. Kristy Boyce writes such fun and realistic characters. The relationships are also always so endearing and compelling.

I love how the D&D group was incorporated into this. There was just enough details of game nights and the campaign for my liking. It never overshadowed the rest of the story, which I appreciated.

I had moments where the marching band element seemed a bit too much for me. It’s not something I could relate too as it wasn’t part of my experience, but it was a huge part of Hazel’s experience, and because I came to care about her so much, I came to care about the band’s success.

I think around the 40%-point, that’s when I was truly pulled in. I was waffling initially, but the cuteness soon started to come out and I was hooked.

I feel like Hazel showed a lot of positive growth over the course of the story. She started to stand up for herself more, including with her Mom, who was a bit overbearing. I also loved seeing Hazel and Max get their friendship back. Romance aside, being friends first is so important to me, and I love how Boyce developed it here.

I would highly recommend this to YA Romance Readers, or anyone who is looking for true to life representation of RPG in their stories. All of the books are super cute. Read one, read them all. I’m very happy that I have.

Thank you to the publisher, Delacorte Romance, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I look forward to whatever Kristy Boyce releases next!

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Review: The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer

The House SaphirThe House Saphir by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

The House Saphir follows Mallory Fontaine and is set in historical, and also a wee bit magical, France. The atmosphere is steeped in occult elements and we love to see that. Mallory comes from a long-line of witches, but her one actual power is being able to see ghosts.

Mallory makes her living giving tours of an infamous mansion where the first of the Saphir murders took place. She’s considered a bit of an expert on the murderer, Count Bastien Saphir, aka. Monsieur Le Bleu, who murdered three of his wives over a century ago.

Mallory is shocked when she ends up meeting Bastien’s great-great grandson, Armand, on one of her tours. The heir to the Saphir estate, Armand offers Mallory and her sister a large sum of money to rid his estate of Le Bleu’s ghost.

He believes the sisters are as talented as their reputations purport them to be when it comes to dealing with spirits. To him, they’re the perfect solution. To them, he’s the perfect mark. A deal is made.

The two women travel to the palatial country manor expecting their same ole’ smoke and mirrors routine. However, when murder once again comes to the House Saphir, their ghost investigation turns into a real-life murder investigation. Will they be able to solve the crime and banish the ghost before more lives are lost?

I knew nothing about The House Saphir prior to picking it up except for the fact that it was written by Marissa Meyer. I’ve had nothing but great success with Meyer’s works in the past and I love picking up her latest releases.

I had the pleasure of Buddy Reading this one with a friend and we both had so much fun with it. I actually read it in a day, which surprised me because it’s over 400-pages. I was completed invested the entire way through though. I couldn’t put it down once I started.

Apparently, it’s a Bluebeard retelling, but I didn’t go into it knowing anything about that lore, so can’t attest to this novel as a retelling one way or another. I have looked up information on Bluebeard since, and it does seem like it would be a fun ride for fans of that story.

What I do know is how consumable Meyer’s writing is. I always love her quirky characters, and she brings just the right amount of humor to her stories for my tastes.

Mallory is such an incredible MC to follow, and I loved the banter between her and Armand. She’s extremely witty and fast-thinking. You can tell she’s had to take care of herself. It shows, she’s tough and willing to do whatever it takes to survive. She’s a hustler. LOL

The murder mystery was such a bonus for me. It definitely added another layer of enjoyment. In that regard, it reminded me a bit of Belladonna. I do think Readers who enjoyed that, would enjoy this as well.

I also loved how many ghosties and monsters there were. I wasn’t expecting all that. Where I could see some Readers being disappointed, is if you go in expecting Romantasy. I don’t read a ton of Romantasy, but to me the Romance is very much a secondary-plot point compared to everything else that’s happening.

If you go in expecting big romance, you make walk away feeling let down. It exists in here, but yeah, it’s certainly not the star of the show, IMO.

I think this novel will hit best with Gothic Readers, or Readers who enjoy witches, ghosts, murder and other paranormal things, but also love humor and compelling characters. The setting of this gothic manor is super well done and it’s certainly action-packed.

Finally, I would recommend the audiobook. The narration from Rebecca Soler, unsurprisingly, was perfection. She brought Mallory to life and made me love her even more!

Thank you to the publisher, Feiwel & Friends and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Marissa Meyer is just so freaking talented!

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Review: Wildcard (Warcross #2) by Marie Lu

Wildcard (Warcross #2)Wildcard by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Wildcard is the concluding book in Marie Lu’s Warcross duology. For some unexplainable reason, I preordered this book for it’s 2018-release and then never read it.

Even with Warcross being my favorite YA-book of 2017, I didn’t read it’s sequel. Honestly, what’s wrong with me?

Recently, I reread Warcross in order to finally be able to finish off this duology, and of course neither book disappointed. Lu is incredibly talented at her world-building, thought-provoking concepts and engaging character work.

This was devastating though, NGL. It gets pretty heavy towards the end as the truth is revealed, but also offers up a lot of food for thought regarding terrifying future tech.

Even though it’s close to a decade old, I feel like this duology definitely holds up. I would absolutely still recommend it to anyone looking for a fast-paced and thrilling YA-SciFi story. Particularly if you love gaming elements in your stories.

As for me, I’ll certainly be picking up more from Marie Lu!

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Re-Reading Warcross by Marie Lu

Warcross (Warcross, #1)Warcross by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Upon reread, Warcross doesn’t quite live up to the 5-star energy that I felt the first time around, so I’m dropping the rating down to a 4-star.

I still really enjoyed it, and I stand by my experience back in 2017, but yeah, at this point it’s lost a bit of luster for me.

It still stands out in the YA SciFi genre though and I would absolutely recommend it. I’m excited to actually continue on and finally read the sequel. I can’t believe I never got to it.

The competition elements and the intrigue of what’s going on behind-the-scenes of Warcross is what really stood out to me this time through. Overall, I’m super happy to have revisited this story!

Previously:

Yessss, Marie Lu. I absolutely loved this. In fact, Warcross was my favorite YA book of 2017 and for good reason!!!

Emika Chen is a phenomenal protagonist.

She’s smart, super strong, both physically and mentally, as well as independent AF. Everything I aspire to be.

The gaming elements and competitive feel of this book kept it rolling along nicely with plenty of action.

The final two chapters were nothing short of AMAZING!!!

I loved the low-key social commentary about our times, real life issues and philosophical ideas that could be hotly debated. I was very pleasantly surprised by this aspect.

I cannot wait for the next book to be released. I know for sure I will be preordering it!

Update 3/3/21:

While it is true that I did, in fact, preorder Wildcard, I still have not read it. I loved this first book so much and I am afraid that the second book will disappoint me.

Does anyone else do this? Just me? I am really going to try to pick it up soon. I need to complete this duology and see what happens with my girl, Emika.

I need to DO IT!!

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